To Be Free
by iiWolfyii
Summary: A teenage girl named Alex N. Hart, who is from our world, suddenly is put into the One Piece world! And the bad thing is, she has never watched the anime, so how is she going to survive? Will she? Come along as Alex wakes up into a new world, and meets new friends along the way, and enemies as well.. Bad Summary is bad, Gomen! :3 Hope you like!
1. Wanted Freedom

The last bell of the day rang throughout the school signaling the day was over. The halls quickly filled up as students were heading to their lockers to go home.

A tall girl with curly red-ish brown hair and dull blue eyes slammed her locker shut and headed to the doors. As she walked on by, a group of teenager girls shorter than her tried to talk to her, but she simply ignored their requests and kept going.

Once at home, she stepped into the relaxing and cool air conditioned building and shut the door. She took off her school shoes and put them near the door with the other shoes and stepped in towards the stairs.

"Oh, Alexandra!" her mother popped her head from the kitchen, almost smacking into the girl. "We're having a guest over tonight, I picked out your dress for you." she went to go back into the kitchen before Alexandra mumbled,"Rather wear a potato sack.."

"What was that?" her mother came out again, leaning against the door frame as she put a hand on her hip, glaring at the girl. She rolled her eyes, walking up the stairs. "Nothing. I'll wear it.." "Thought so!" and she went back to cook dinner..

Once in her room Alexandra, or Alex as she calls herself, threw her backpack into the far corner of her room and locked her door. She brushed out her curled hair and put it in a simple side braid and went to her closet to change out of her uniform. She picked out a black tank-top with panda on it, a pair of light-wash blue skinny jeans and a pair of black knee length high-top converse and quickly changed into them.

Satisfied with her attire she grabbed her i-pod and flopped onto her bed and started to listen to music, drowning out the world around her..

Alex isn't much of a normal girl. Or at least not in her own town. Her family is a well known rich family in the town and she seems to be annoyed with it. She rather be poor. "Money doesn't buy happiness." as she always says. The kids at school always try to get to hang out with her, but she doesn't trust any of them. She did that once, and never went back to that. Her family never interacts with her, unless in front of others to look like a good family. They buy her anything she needs, but never anything she wants. But when it comes to her brothers, one younger and older than her, they are babied around the house. The kings, as her parents call them. But to them, she's just a simple maid..

"Alexandra! Get down here already!" her mother's voice called from downstairs. "The guest is almost here!" she huffed, lazily dragging herself off her bed and near her chosen outfit for the night. It was a dress, blue, white and black. It had a slight puff to the skirt, that ended just below her knees. "Oh god, what am I five?" she picked it up and slipped it over her clothes. She didn't feel like taking them off, and she really didn't care either.

She unlocked her door and headed downstairs to see her grandparents right at the bottom. A huge smile broke out onto her face as she ran into their arms. They were the only ones in the family that seemed to care about her. To see her for who she truly was.

"Alex, sweetheart!" her grandmother laughed as they both hugged their grandchild.

"Hey guys!" she cried as she stepped back from them. Her mother came up from behind them, only to glare at their backs. Alex saw this and simply glared back, sending her mother away towards the dining room. The doorbell rang and Alex went to answer it, beating her mother to it. "Oh, hello Mr. Klahadore!" Alex gave him a huge smile, which was _not_ real. She hated this man since the first day they met. He use to babysit her, and has been a "friend" of the family for years. He would always make her feel like crap when ever they were alone together. Saying things to get her angry or sad, to mess with her emotions. He would make her feel frightened by the man as well. She still was, but he couldn't do anything to her anymore, now that she was almost an adult. She hated him from the bottom of her heart, but now that she's a teenager, she wants to get revenge somehow. But that's for another time..

He looked a bit surprised by her happy attitude towards him, but hid it, although she saw it. She could read people like books. One of her many talents~

"Hello Alexandra.."he said in a more adult, mature way. She rolled her eyes and let the man in. He was wearing an odd suit, but she said nothing about it. They all went to the dining room and sat down as dinner was about to start.

Alex was laughing and talking with her grandparents, who sat on both sides of her as if for protection, while the others talked about business, and more boring adult subjects. Klahadore turned to face Alex, making her stop from talking to look back. "So, Alexandra.." her brow twitched as he used her full name. She hated it. "How is school?" he asked. She scoffed. _Why is he asking me this?_ She put on a fake smile and answered,"Boring and completely useless?" her mother and father's faces dropped.

"Alexandra!That is no way to-" "Oh can it John!" her grandfather shouted, shutting the man up. _Oooh!_ She laughed to herself. "Why is that?" Klahadore asked again. The three of them rolled their eyes. "Because it's a waste of time to learn things I don't even care for and simply don't need to know for the future. You should know that," she rested her chin in her palm, a smirk lay on her lips. "Or are you just down right stupid?" Her grandparents tried to stiffle their giggles, but failed. "Oh sister, always as immature as a 3 year old I see." her older brother, James, added onto the conversation. "Is that a challenge, monkey boy?" her brother's face contorted into anger. "Why you-!"

"That is enough!" her mother shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. "Oh yes I think I've had enough too!" Alex smiled as she stood from her chair. "Of?"

"You." she grabbed the top of her dress and yanked at it, ripping the delicate fabric in half as she stepped out of it to show off her original outfit from before.

"Young lady! You will-!" "Ohh, so scary!" she clapped her hands on her face dramatically. "You all act so high and full of power.."she stood on her chair, using it as a ladder as she jumped onto the table, startling everyone but her grandparents. "but really, your just as low as everyone else, hm?" she strolled over to her parents side of the table to smile deviously down at them. "That is not true!" her mother gasped. "You better get down from that table!" her father added.

"Oh, I don't think I want to!" she twirled around, feeling full of adrenaline from this little argument. She always had a huge taste for these things. She was enjoying herself, putting people into their place.

Klahadore stood up from his seat, fixing his tie. "Such a troublesome girl!" he glared at her. "Oh, and so he talks!" she twirled before hopping down in front of him. "Acting like he's some, polite and sophisticated man.. but in reality your the lowest of them all aren't you?" she pointed at her parents behind her, not taking her eyes from the man in front of her. "Just waitin' to join 'em!" "Alexandra!" her father warned. "Can it, mustache."

Her little brother laughed at that. She smiled as he laughed, she wasn't very close to the younger boy, but she could see he really did look up to her. Seemed he wasn't liking how her parents worked either.

"An act?" Klahadore scoffed, a nervous sweat sliding down his face. "Oh yeah. Whenever my parents would leave me in your care, you would always turn into such a..demon?" she got closer to his face in a challenging manner. "Is this true, Klahadore?" her mother asked. "Oh as if you care either way mother!" Alex laughed, looking back at her mother for a brief moment before turning back to Klahadore.

As she turned back to the man, a hand came down and slapped her, making her stagger back. " Klahadore!" her grandparents got up from their chair, ready to defend Alex but she stopped them with holding up her hair. Alex took a look at her hand, seeing a bit of blood on her face from the ring he had on his hand that slapped her. She chuckled before bringing her fist up and straight to his face, a satisfying cracking sound coming from his nose as she punched his face. "My nose!" he fell to the ground, covering his nose as blood oozed from it. Her parents and older brother ran to his aid as she stepped back. "Whew, been wanting to do that for years!" she went over and high-fived her younger brother and grandparents. "Alexandra! Apologize this instant!" her mother stood up to yell at the girl. "Hm..no!" she smiled before dashing out the room and up the stairs, locking her bedroom door as her mother continued to lose her cool. She laughed loudly as she moved around her room to the window, opening it and climbing out to reach a branch on the tall tree outside. She slammed the window shut loudly on purpose, as if telling them she was going out.

She slid down the trunk and jogged off behind the house and into the dark yet peaceful woods..

Once at her destination, she sat down. She was now on a cliff behind her house a ways a way. She could hear her father's shouts from outside the house, but didn't fret. He would never come to her special spot. Her special cliff was just above the deep and dark ocean as the waves rocked back and forth, splashing against the tall cliff's surface below.

She would always come here when she was upset. Right now was a perfect example. She was furious, yet she was also content. She wanted to escape this place, get away from the people that she could never trust. She wanted to be free.

As she sat there in the soft grass, she listened to her father's angry shouts. She could hear him getting even farther away from her, which she wanted to laugh at but decided to stay quiet until he was near gone.

She was sure that he was almost gone when her ears picked up another voice. "Klahadore.."she growled. She just knew he would try and help him find her. Too bad they were too stupid to do so. She listened as he told her father to go back inside the house, and that he would find her. She scoffed. _Cocky bastard.._

She leaned back into the grass, laying down as she looking at the full moon in front of her. It was shocking to have such a peaceful and harmless place right in a world full of chaos and cruelty. So much cruelty.

"We meet again, Alexandra." she shot up from her spot on the ground to see Klahadore behind her, a smirk on his bandaged face. She would have laughed at the sight, but was too shocked to do so.

"How'd you..oh never mind." she stood up to meet his gaze. "Don't think you can simply escape me.." he stepped forward, resulting in her stepping back. "Now, come along back to receive your punishment." he gave a wicked grin as she continued to step back.

She almost tripped off the edge of the cliff but quickly stabled herself. "Come on now!" he shouted now, getting impatient. She looked behind her and down the cliff, then back at him. "Must I take you by force?" he inquired. She took one last glance behind her. "Want to be free.." she whispered. "What was that?" he asked. She shot him a glare before stepping back a bit, spreading her arms out as a determined look spread across her face. "I will be free!" she shouted.

And then she let go..

She let go of all the anger, the pain. Everything that had happened all her life, and washed it in the ocean as she planned on doing the same thing to herself. And the last thing she saw was the look of utter disbelief of Klahadore's face, before she plunged straight down into the murky blue waters below..

.

.

A groan escaped Alex's mouth as she slowly opened her eyes halfway, too blinded by the sun's light above to open them fully. _Wait..sun?_she moved her head to the side a bit to try and see where she was, but her eyes wouldn't get rid of the watering blurriness in them. She tried to feel the area around her. _Sand..?_her fingers dug into the hot grains below her. _How can I be on a beach?_ Her eyes started to blur even more, black spots turning up in her vision. Her vision was almost completely gone, but before her eyes had a chance to shut a figure with a straw hat came into her view, blocking out the sun. Her eyes closed as she was lifted gently off the sandy ground and into the arms of the figure. She slipped back into her deep sleep, but before she was fully unconscious she could hear the figure speak,"It's alright little one." it said. "It's going to be just fine.." and then she blacked out..


	2. A Whole Other WorldWhat is Going On?

The next time Alex woke, she found herself in a different location. She rubbed at her eyes, rubbing the blurriness away to clear her vision. Once cleared, she took in her surroundings. "What the hell..?"she looked around, seeing herself in some type of med-bay room. She went to sit up but deeply regretted her decision as pain spread across her body. "Oh, your awake!" a voice came from the doorway. She lay back in the bed and looked up to see an older man coming into the room with a kind and relieved smile on his face. "W-Where am I?" she asked, almost gasping in shock as she heard herself. _My voice is much..higher. Childish even!_

"You're in the hospital little one!" he smiled. _Little one? Last time I checked I was near 6 ft.._"My names Pete, I'm the towns doctor." he waved. "Doctor..?" "You seemed to wash up on the beach this morning! Worried us all sick!" he checked her injuries as she worked out what was said. _The beach? We never had a beach in town.._some pain rising from her arm snapped her from her thoughts. "Oops, sorry." he smiled sheepishly, pulling back. "How am I injured?" she said aloud. "You seem to have broken a few bones..a few scrapes too but nothing too serious." he told her. "Hm. Never broke a bone before.." he chuckled. "So, who was the man who brought me here? I remember seeing someone in a straw hat before I blacked out again.."she asked. He smiled and went out the door before another man came in, with the same straw hat as she saw before.

He was a taller man with dark red wavy locks. "I'm relieved to see you're awake!" he came over to the side of her bed. "Mm."she hummed in response. "Thank you for saving me." he smiled. "Anything for beautiful young lady!" she blushed. "Young?" she titled her head slightly to the side. "Yes, you do remember your age right? You seem about..seven?" he said as he took a look at her as if trying to double check his deduction. "M-May I have that mirror?" she pointed at a small hand mirror on the desk behind him. He turned and grabbed it, handing it to her. She noted that her hands were smaller than before as she held onto it.

She took one last breath before turning the mirror up to get a good look at herself. She almost screamed. She looked totally different. She now was much paler, as if made of porcelain. Her features were different from when she was seven, back then she usually had a more chubby look to her. Now it was more defined, but not too much for a child at the age of seven. And she did look seven. She could tell.

She now had a button nose, different from her usual straight nose. Her eyes were now a chocolate brown instead of a dull blue, and were more soft and round than her old cold and scary woman eyes from before. Instead of her usual long, red-ish brown curly hair, she now had shorter black hair that seemed to be more straighter, with a slight wave to them. She went to check her ears when she felt nothing there. She lifted her new black locks to see nothing there. "What..?" she noticed something twitch on top of her head and looked up to see fluffy black wolf ears on her head, with white insides. "Oh my god.." she felt that scream climbing up her throat, but she pushed it back down.

"I was pretty shocked myself!" the man's voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Never seen a wolf child before!" he chuckled. "Wolf..?"she yanked the blanket off of her to see a black matching tail there near her legs. She jumped slightly as it wagged for the first time. "Okay this is..crazy." she breathed. "Do you remember anything from before?" he asked. She pulled the blanket back on her body, not liking the breeze on them as she seemed to be now dressed in a short hospital gown. "Uhm. Yeah. Yeah I do." "Like what?" she thought for a moment. "Well..."she dragged on. "My names Alex. I'm eight"_I guess so.._"and I don't seem to remember how I ended up in the ocean?" he stared at her for a moment, taking in the new information before shrugging. "It should come to you later I suppose."

"What's your name?" she asked, one of her ears tilted to the side. _Oh god. Gonna take a while to get used to that!_ "Shanks."he answered. "Nice name!" she smiled, causing him to laugh. "Same to you, Alex!"

Pete came back into the room just as they were about to start a conversation. "So Alex, how ya feeling?" he asked. She looked at her body, shifting slightly. "Well." she started. "My arm and my leg hurts. But other than that, fine." Pete looked a bit shocked. "Just both those? But you had both your legs broke and your other arm sprained?" he went over to check said limbs. _Probably from the fall..but how can I still be alive? AND WHY AM I SUDDENLY SEVEN YEARS OLD!?_ "So, how long am I going to have to stay in bed?" she asks. "A few days atleast, maybe a week or two to get your broken limbs healed up a bit." he tells her as she pouts a bit at that unwanted answer, making them chuckled at her adorable child face, her ears going downwards. "Don't worry, you'll be up in no time! Then we can finally try and figure a way to get you back home!"Pete says as he waves, before walking back out.

_Home huh.._she lowers her head in defeat as a depressed look spreads across her face. Shanks opens the door to leave, but quickly catches that look before stepping out to leave her to her thoughts.

As the soft click of the door comes to her new ears, she sighs a shaky breath before finally breaking down, harder than she's ever done before. _And to think I was finally free.._

.

.

The next day Alex was waken up by the sound of people outside talking and laughing loudly. She sits up, rubbing her eyes sleepily as she rubbed the remains of her tears from last night from her face. She had managed to fall asleep during her episode. She looked around before throwing the blankets off her small form and swinging her little legs over the edge of the bed. She hopped down to the hard wood floor below her and took a moment to get use to the height difference. "This is trippy.." she shook her head to get out of her thoughts and walked over to the door, pulling it open and stepping out. She took a look around to see if anyone was around before heading out the building.

Outside, was what shocked her. She was nowhere near her own town. She never recognized this place, so where was she? She looked around, seeing people enter a bar and decided to go towards there. Once there she noted that it was loud. She recoiled in slight pain as the loud noise adjusted to her now more sensitive ears. _Damn these things!_she got a hold of herself moments later and walked in, looking around. Everyone was dressed in older day looking clothes, drinking and joking around with everyone. _Did I like, go back in time or something? Jeez.._she went up to the bar and climbing one of the stools, sitting on the seat and looking around more. "Why hello there." a soft female voice came from behind her. She turned to meet eyes with a dark green haired woman, with a welcoming smile to her face. "And who might you be?" she asked. "A-Alex miss." she stuttered. She wasn't use to talking to strangers, it made her nervous.

"Are you new to the island?" she asked. _Island? I am so confused.._ "Uhm, y-yes?"

"Alex!" Shanks voice came up from behind her. She turned to see the man coming up behind her. "You're still supposed to be in bed resting!"he lightly scolded her. "But I feel completely fine!" she wiggled about in her seat. It was true, she didn't feel broken at all. Well, her limbs didn't anyway. She didn't take any time to think about it, but it was a bit strange to have a broken limb heal in just overnight. "What?" he raised a brow. "Yeah!" she smiled. "Well if you say so.."he scratched his head before sitting at the bar next to her.

"Shanks!" a younger voice called out behind them. A younger boy with black hair came running up to Shanks, jumping up to sit on the counter before them. "Hey Luffy!" Shanks greeted. "Who's your friend?" he asked, looking at Alex. She hunched over a bit in shyness. "This is Alex!" he ruffled her locks, making her look up at them. "I'm Luffy!" he told her. "Hi.."she blushed lightly. _Seems to be about..5? Hmph. I guess I'll just go with this all for now!_ "So, Alex do you remember anything now?" Shanks asked. She shook her head, her black locks shaking around her shoulders. "She's a dog! Cool!" Luffy gasped in amazement as he tugged on her left ear. "H-hey!" she grabbed at her ear, a heavy blush spraying across her cheeks. _God these things are sensitive!_she screamed inside her head. "Shishishi! Sorry!" he smiled a toothy smile, making her slight anger at him disappear. "Ah! That reminds me!" she looked down at her gown she was still in. "Where are my other clothes?" she looked up at Shanks. "They should be back at the clinic." he pointed a thumb near the building outside. She smiled her thanks before jumping off the stool and dashing off to get changed back into her clothes.

Once back in her clothes she took a look in a full length mirror. She was MUCH shorter than her 16 year old self. She had freckles on her nose and cheeks. She wasn't use to being this pale. She was like a glass doll! She looked at her face more to notice a mole on the tip of her nose, right in the mirror. She snorted, it looked pretty silly. She looked down at her clothes. It seemed her clothes changed as well as her body. Her shoes were now just to her ankles, and her tank top didn't have a panda on it anymore. She seemed to deflate at that. She loved pandas.

She sighed and ran back to the bar, to see Shanks wasn't there anymore. She hopped up onto the stool bar she sat on before and turned to Luffy. "Say Luffy, whose your friend?" a blonde man came over and leaned against the counter. "This is Alex! She's a dog!" _Bonk!_ "Ow!" Luffy grabbed his head as a small bump started to form. "I'm not a dog!" she growled, lowering her fist she used to hit him on the head. "Hey Alex, I'm Yasopp!" he poked the tip of her nose where the mole was. She went cross-eyed as he did that.

"Nice to meet you." she smiled, wagging her. _Hah, got control of it!_ "You know, I have a son about your age. Name's Usopp. Long nose, black curly hair." he started to describe his son. "Got it from his mother." she smiled softly. "Seems you love your son very much.." he chuckled lightly. "Yeah, had to leave him behind to sail across the world though.." her ears perked up, tilting her head to the side. "Don't you miss him?" he smiled. "Of course I do!"

"Sounds nice.."she whispered. Shanks came back in and lifted Alex up before letting her sit in his lap as he sat down in her seat. She blushed. _I'm not a kid! Oh wait, right. I am. DANG IT!_

Her tail started to wag lightly. _Am I enjoying this!? God I am turning into an eight year old aren't I!_ She ignored her thoughts and leaned into his stomach. "So Alex, think you remember anything now?" he asked, looking down at her. She frowned at this, shaking her head furiously. "You don't?" he frowned. "I don't want to go back!" she blurted out. She covered her mouth with her tiny hands. "Why not?" he inquired. Makino had come over to hear aswell, slightly worried about the girl. "Uh. I mean. I-" she growls in fustration, but with her childish voice it sounded more like a puppy trying to growl the first time. They laughed lightly at this as Shanks pet her. "I give up~!" she whined, leaning further into his stomach. "Alex," Makino's soft voice brought her from her mock depression. "Would you like something to eat? You haven't eaten anything for a while have you?" she was about to protest, but her stomach made a loud and noticeable growl. Makino giggled. "I'll take that as a yes! I'll be back." she went back to get something for the young girl to eat. _Oh so my stomach can growl that loud but I can't!? Hmph._

"So Alex, what do you like to do for fun?" Luffy asked as he sipped his milk Makin brought him earlier when she was out. She put a hand to her chin, thinking for a moment. "Hmm.." now what would an eight year old like..? "I like to have adventures!" she threw her hands up cheerfully. It was true, but she never really had any adventurous events happen to her except the night before..and she wasn't going to tell them any of that anytime soon.

"Me too!" he smiled. "You'll get along great then!" Shanks laughed. Makino came back with a plate of food and a glass of water for Alex, who thanked her before quickly digging in. She finished in less than 3 minutes. "Yupp, you'll fit right in!" they all laughed as another blush came across the girl's face.

"Want a tour of the town Alex?" Luffy asked. "Sure!"_Might as well know where I am._ She hopped off Shanks' lap and headed out the door with Luffy, waving to the others before catching up with the younger boy.

Luffy and I ran around the island, as he insisted in taking me to see every single inch of the whole area. Meeting other people, which made me a bit nervous but they seemed really nice and friendly. Their tour ended when they entered the bar once again. "Hey Luffy, Puppy-chan!" Shanks greeted them. She tried to growl at him for the nickname, but it came out too cute to be anywhere near threatening. The two of them went up and sat up on the counters near him.

Suddenly a group of shady looking men came barging into the bar. Alex was too lost in her shock to see everything that happened, but she snapped out of it after they left. "Shanks!" she hopped down to his aid. He was soaked in sake and on the floor, yet he still had that same smile on his face. "It's fine Alex!" he pet her. "It's not!" her voice shook. Luffy began to shout in anger, only for Shanks to make him stop and pout. Alex sighed and watched the boy as he sat down grumpily, taking out a strange looking fruit from a small treasure chest and eating most of it all in one bite. Shanks turned just in time to find him eat most of it all and shout in shock. Alex jumped up and clung to his shoulder, watching with curiousity. "Luffy! Did you just eat what was in that chest!?" Luffy looked up at him. "Yeah. Didn't taste good though.." he said nonchalantly. Shanks picked him up, hanging him upside down and shaking him around. "Spit it out! Right now!" Luffy cried out in confusion before his legs stretched out further than normal and his face hid the wooden floor, before slowly coming back up. "W-What?"

"You fool! That's a Devils Fruit! You won't be able to swim anymore!" Shanks yelled at him.

"WHAAAT!?"Luffy screeched, making Alex cover her ears in pain as she slipped and fell onto the ground. _That boy's got some lungs on him!_

"Can't swim? Guess you're an anchor now, ne Shanks?" she giggled as she was lifted up. "Shut up!" Luffy pouted as he drank his milk. _Wonder what will happen next..?_


	3. Trouble!

The next day Alex and Luffy came into the bar from playing around the town to see the bandits from yesterday in. The bar was dead silent, but was quickly gone as Luffy shouted,"You're the bandits from yesterday! Apologize to Shanks now!" Alex, not wanting to anger the boy more, simply agreed. "Yeah! Apologize!"she shouted with him, baring her sharp teeth. _Awesome, fangs! _The leader of the group stood up in front of them, towering over their small bodies.

"What do you mean, kid? We just came here to have a drink is all; why should we have to apologize?" he smirked, as if challenging the two kids to continue. "You bastard!" Alex shouted. "Apologize now!" Luffy added. "Luffy! Alex!" Makino tried to come and control us, but they simply shook her off. Makino grabbed Alex by the shoulders as the bandit snatched Luffy up and walked out, followed by his crew. "Luffy!" Alex ran out of Makino's grasp and after her friend. _Those damn bandits! Who do they think they are!?_

Alex skidded to a stop once she found them. They were near the docks, bullying Luffy. Alex snarled before jumping onto one of the bandit's backs, using her new and sharper canines to bit down on the man's shoulders.

"Ahhgh!" he tried to pull her off, but her teeth were latched on too far into his skin now.

"You brat!" another man came over and yanked her off, throwing her down towards Luffy.

"Alex!" Luffy cried as she hit the ground with a yelp. She went to stand back up when a boot came down on her side, pinning her down. "Your friend here to protect you brat!?" she yelped in pain as he brought his foot down on her again. "That's it..!" she grabbed his foot and twisted it, making him stagger and fall into the men behind her. She got up and dusted herself off. _Guess I still have the strength from when I was 16, nice!_ She wiped her mouth that had the previous man's blood on it, slightly enjoying the taste. _Oh gross. Why does it taste good!?_

She jumped and attacked another man, latching onto his arm and sinking her teeth into it. _Oh god this is exciting!_ She was yanked off soon enough and thrown to the ground, pinned again by the same boot from before. She yelped in pain as he dug his foot into her back. "Leave them alone, please!" Makino came out running. "What ever they did, I'll pay you! Just leave them alone!" another voice pleaded. "No!" Alex choked out, only to get her face pushed into the ground. _Ow.._

The guy laughed. "No, these kids pissed me off! And it's fun to watch them struggle!" _Oh, that's morbid._ "You bastards!"she shouted, lifting her head up as she raised her voice. "You're going straight to hell you-!" a loud cracking noise erupted from her back as she yelped in pain. She could feel his boot digging so deep into her back that it was starting to break! _Damn being so small that my bones are like toothpicks!_

"Stop it! Stop hurting Alex!" Luffy shouted from behind them.

"So that's why nobody was at the bar." Shanks came out from behind the mayor and Makino. "S-Shanks!" Luffy and Alex cried in unison and relief. "I thought your punches were as strong as pistols!" he joked towards Luffy. _He's joking!? At a time like this!?_ "Shut up!" Luffy yelled, annoyed. "Oh it's those filthy pirates!" the man holding down Alex laughed. "Oi, don't insult them!" Alex thrashed furiously, ignoring her own pain.

Shanks hat shadowed his face as he turned serious. "I don't care if you spill booze on me or insult me," he said. Alex felt chills go down her spine. _Man he sure is intimidating.._ "Hell, even if you spit on me I won't care."_Ew, I would!_

Shanks looked up finally, revealing his eyes to be wide in an angry glare as he stared down the man. "But if you harm my friends, I can't forgive you!" Alex smiled softly at those words. _Friends, huh?_ She let her head rest on the ground as she started to grow tired, ignoring the pain in her back that seemed to increase as the man dug his boot in more.

He didn't seem to care though. "Forgive me?" he sneered. "Ha! As if I'm scare by some nobody! I can kill you!" Alex smiled. "A weakling like you wouldn't even be strong enough to kill a fly.." she grunted as he stomped on her back, but stayed silent as she could. Another random bandit came up and pointed a gun at Shanks head. But that didn't seem to phase him one bit.

"Now that you've drawn your pistol, are you willing to use it?" he asked, his voice dangerously low but powerful as always. Although Alex was starting to doze off, she listened to the man's speech through the end.

The bandit blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I'm saying that guns aren't for threats, they're for actions." a second later, Lucky Roo shot the bandit point blank as he tore some meat off from the bone was holding nonchalantly. The bandits started to panic. "That was dirty!" one shouted. "We aren't saints, we're pirates." Shanks simply stated. Alex sighed in content as she treasured his wise words. "I got this captain," Benn growled, pulling out his gun. The bandit above Alex, Higuma, yelled for him to stop. He lifted his leg, bringing it down harder on Alex's back. But she did not cry out. She just lay there, awake and not moving. Benn stopped as they watched the man continue to stomp on her, another more loud crack coming from her body as her back seemed to break, making her cry out in pain before passing out shortly after..

.

.

Alex woke up in the infirmary, Yasopp right next to her. She lifted her head, sitting up slightly. Careful not to hurt her back more. "Where's Shanks? Luffy?" she asked, rubbing the tears from her eyes. "You nearly broke your back and you worry about someone else?" he chuckled as she lowered her head. "They're fine. They should be back soon." he gently patted her head. "Don't you worry!" she smiled.

"How long til I can get out of bed again?" she whined, wanted to run out the room to find the two she was worried to death about. As if on cue, Pete came in. "Well,"he started._ Did he hear me?_ She blushed. "You _should_ be out of bed in a few days but," he pointed at her arms and legs. "considering that your arms and legs healed in less than a few hours, you'll probably be okay to walk around in about an hour or so?" she smiled, excited. "Thanks!"

.

.

It was a long wait for her back to finally heal up to a point where she could walk. She was still freaked out on how fast she could heal a broken bone, but she thought that maybe it was just because she was now, sort of, a different species. Or at least half and half.

She hastily jumped out of the bed, stretching to get the stiffness out of her back and ran to the door. She entered the bar and saw Luffy in Shanks' lap and Shanks sitting at the bar, both soaked with sea water.

She took a moment to look at him. She noticed that he was perfectly fine, except for his arm. It was gone.

She gasped, tears coming to her eyes as she looked up at him. She let a soft sob escape, getting the mans attention. He smiled down at her as if it wasn't anything new. He looked above her head to see Pete and Benn approaching them. Benn took Luffy and the doctor went straight to bandaging Shanks' new stump for an arm.

Alex wiped her tears away quickly, not wanting to cause a scene._Oh come on Alex, your 16!_

"Come." he whispered, waving her over. It was like those words hypnotized her, but she allowed herself to listen to the command. _Oh man, I really am turning into a dog aren't I?_

She hopped up on his lap as he smiled proudly down at her. "Luffy told me that you fought those bandits! I'm so proud of you." she looked down. "I just bit them, I didn't do much.."

"But you did! Your very strong!" she felt the corners of her lips tug into a small smile. _Maybe it's okay to stay here for a while..what's the bad that can happen?_


	4. Promises

Luffy and Alex stand at the dock as they say their goodbyes to Shanks and his crew.

"Leaving,right?" Luffy asked as the kids both smiled at Shanks. "We've stayed here for a long time, but it's time to leave." Shanks sighed. "Will you miss us?"

"Yeah,I'll miss you guys." Luffy said, as Alex hummed in agreement. "I won't ask you to take me with you this time." he added. "I've decided to do it by myself..to become a pirate." Alex smiled. Shanks stuck his tongue out at the boy. "Either way, I wouldn't have taken you with me."he joked. "Like you can become a pirate." Alex tried her best to stiffle her giggles.

Luffy looked annoyed. "I will!" he yelled. "I'll gather my own crew that'll beat yours, and find the world's greatest treasure!" Everyone on the docks watched as he did his own little speech. "No matter what, I will become the Pirate King!"

"Oh, you're going to beat us..." Shanks smiled down at the boy who was trying his best not to cry. Alex rubbed her eye as tears started to form in them.

"Then.."Shanks took off his straw hat, and placed it on top of Luffy's head, covering the boys face. "I'll let you take care of this hat." Shanks told him. "It's very important to me." he pushed it up onto Luffy's head more. "Take good care of it."

Alex smiled as Luffy's eyes were drowned with tears, spilling over and down his cheeks. They watched as Shanks' ship began to move out, everyone waving their goodbyes to the beloved pirate crew.

_Some day.._

_Return it to me..As a great pirate._

_It's a promise, Luffy, Alex._

.

.

.

Luffy and Alex stare at his straw hat as they remembered that one beloved promise.

"Oi Luffy, make sure to be careful with that hat next time." Zoro's voice shook them from their thoughts. Luffy put the hat back on with a big smile, "Ah, Thank you. Zoro" Alex smiled, leaning against the side of their small boat. _We'll fulfill that promise, Shanks.._

**.**

**.**

_Windmill Village at the edge of Goa Kingdom on the Dawn Island.._

"Hey, why don't you take my old fishing boat, Luffy?"one of the villagers asked. "That thing is gonna sink any minute!" he pointed at the small row-boat that Luffy and Alex were standing in. "That's a small boat.."another man said.

"This is fine!" Luffy spread out his arms with a smile. "This is what I wanna start with!" he told them. He smiled widely and turned towards the ocean behind them, shouting to the sky, "SABO! Watch over us! We're gonna go out to sea now!" Alex chuckled as she watched him yell to the heavens.

"Sabo was first and Ace was second." Alex said. "And we're third, but we're gonna top them! Wait for us, Ace!" Luffy added. "We'll catch up with you soon!" he pumped his fist in the air.

"What are you doing screaming and mumbling? Is it some kind of incantation?" the villagers asked. He turned to face them. "No, it's not! It's a challenge!"

"Who's Ace?" one villager asked. "No idea." another shrugged.

"Alright, we're going now!" the two of them waved at their childhood town.

The rope that tied the boat to the docks was pulled back, releasing them into the ocean. They rowed the boat as the others waved their goodbyes.

"What a nice day for setting sail!" Luffy smiled up at the clear and sunny sky as birds soared through the air. "Mmhm!" Alex hummed.

A shadow casted over the two teenagers, making them look up to see the sea monster from years back. The same one from when Shanks saved Luffy. Alex sighed, rubbing her forehead.

The villagers panicked. "Th-That's...!" Luffy stood up with a frown, holding onto his hat. "Here comes our local sea monster!"he smiled, remembering the first time he saw it. "You don't know who you're messing with.." Alex whispered, smirking up at Luffy. "Look at this technique I've been training for 10 years!" He readied his fist, bringing it back as his arm stretched out behind them. "Gum-Gum no..." the monster roared as it began to pounce towards them. "...Pistol!" he threw his fist at the monster, hitting it straight in the face as his arm stretched out longer. He brought his fist back to himself as the monster fell back into the ocean unconscious, making the ocean form huge waves that rocked their rowboat as it sank deeper into the ocean.

Luffy smirked, adjusting his hat. "That will learn ya, stupid fish!" Alex cheered, pumping a fist in the air as the villagers behind them cheered.

"Let's start with finding a crew!" Luffy cranked his arm around. "I want at least 10 of them..And the black flag!" he said. "Alright!" Let's go!" Alex cheered. "I'm gonna become...the King of the Pirates!" And so they were off, to start their new journey to reach their dreams!


	5. Yikes! Pirates!

The gentle waves of the ocean rocked the row boat as the two teenage soon to be pirates sat back and relaxed. "Ne,Luffy." he turned to meet Alex's gaze. She nonchalantly pointed up ahead of them, at a whirlpool that seemed to get closer every second now.

"Ooh! Cool!" he smiled. "Idiot! With this small wooden boat we'll never make it out of that thing alive!" she grabbed a hold of the rubber boy's arm. "Just get inside!"she jumped into one of the barrels they had on the boat with them, pulling Luffy in aswell as she shut the lid behind him.

It was of course a cramped space, but Alex was still pretty small so Luffy had more room than her. "We'll just sit here til we pass the whir-"she stopped when the sound of snoring came from behind her. She turned her head to look at her brother as he mouth dropped. "ARE YOU ASLEEP!?"she could say nothing more as the barrel they were in was flung around and into the ocean with a splash..

.

.

Alex woke up to the sounds of people talking outside the small barrel they were still in. _Must have passed out..Where are we?_She decided to just listen,not wanting to take the chance of popping out and getting into trouble or anything. She leaned back as Luffy had wrapped his arms around her waist to make himself more comfortable as he slept. _God, why didn't I just put him in a separate barrel!?_

She turned around to try and wake the boy up, but nothing seemed to work. "Luffy,"she whispered. "If you wake up now, you'll get mountains of meat as a reward!" his snoring stopped and his eyes shot open as he jumped up, smashing the lid to the barrel. "AAAH~ That was a good nap!" he shouted. Alex sighed before grabbing onto the edge of the opened barrel and pulling herself up and out of it.

"What the?" Luffy and Alex looked down to see a man in a blue and white striped shirt on the floor. "You must've hit him, Luffy." she whispered softly. "Ah."

They turned to see two other men frozen in shock as they stared at the two. "Who are you guys?" he asked. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?" they shouted back. Luffy stepped out of the barrel. "He'll catch a cold if he sleeps here." Alex snorted.

"It's your fault!" they whined. A sharp blade came into Luffy's view. "Hm?"

"You bastards," the shorter one holding the sword said. "Stop screwing around. Don't you know we're pirates!?" Alex gave him a smirk that went unnoticed. Luffy didn't seem to be paying attention as he turned to a younger boy with pink hair.

"I'm really hungry, got any..."

"Listen to what I'm saying!" "You brat!" they both raised their swords at the two of them as the younger boy gasped. Luffy turned just in time to see the blades come down towards him.

_**Clank!**_

The end halves of their swords flew up and got stuck in the ceiling. The younger pink haired boy peeked behind his hands as he cowered on the floor.

Luffy was standing over the two men as they sat on the floor in fear, their swords in half. Alex stood to the side as she casually checked her nails.

"What are you doing all of a sudden?" Luffy's mood changed from serious to clueless in a mere second.

"W...who are you?" they asked. "Me? I'm Monkey D. Luffy. Nice to meet you!" Luffy introduced. Alex stayed quiet.

The men picked up their unconscious ship mate and took off down the hallways out the door.

"What...what just happened?" the pink-haired boy sat on the floor as he watched Luffy.

"What's with them?" he wondered. "Hurry up and run!" the boy told them in a whisper. "When they come back with their friends, you'll be killed!" Alex tilted her head to the side as Luffy just smiled. "Even so, I'm hungry."

"How can you say that so calmly!?" the boy looked terrified as Luffy sniffed the air, Alex following his example. "There's a lot of pirates on the deck!"he latched onto both of their arms as he tried to keep them back. "Don't go that way. Wait! You're going the wrong way!" he cried as the two of them opened up a set of double wooden doors.

Luffy cheered as they stared down at what they found. "Food! Food! Food! Alright!" they jumped down to the middle of the room where a bunch of supply crates sat. The other boy watched the door, checking for any pirates to come in and find them.

Luffy picked one of the wooden crates and found it full of apples. Alex gladly snatched one or two as Luffy started to shove more than a human could fit, into his mouth and chomped happily on the fruit.

"I'm Coby, and you're Luffy-san, right?" the boy, Coby asked as he watched them eat. "And you are?" he asked the girl next to the straw hatted boy. She smiled with a mouth full of apple. "I'm Alex! Alex N. Hart." she went back to eating her apple.

"That was amazing back there. How'd you do that?" he asked Luffy as he made his way over to them. Luffy faced him as he chewed on the fruit. "These are good!"he went back to the crate of apples as Coby sat behind them. "Is this a pirate ship?" "No...this ship isn't"Coby answered. "This ship is being attacked by Alvida-sama right now." Alex rose a brow. "Mmm...? It doesn't really matter." Luffy said. "Are there any boats on this ship?" Alex asked. "There should be, but..."Coby tried. "Our ship got sucked into the whirlpool." Luffy said. _Oh, so he was awake to notice that? _"Eh, that whirlpool? You two should be dead." Coby breathed. "Yeah, we were really surprised by it." Luffy turned to face the boy. "Are you a pirate aswell? Alex asked the boy. They watched as the boy's expression switched. "That was...a fateful day. That day, I went aboard, intending to go fishing.."

The boy started to tell them about how he became a pirate, unintentionally. Alex shook her head in sympathy at the boy, who clearly did _not_ want to be a pirate at all.

"I was working as a slave so they wouldn't kill me!" he said. "You're a freaking idiot!" Alex smacked Luffy's arm who put up his hands as defense. "How can you say that?" Coby whined as Alex patted his shoulder in comfort. "You can run away!"he shook his head frantically. "That's impossible! Impossible! Impossible!When I think about Alvida-sama finding out, my legs shake and I get really scared.." "Sounds like a scary captain!"Alex whispered softly. She was beginning to feel bad for the boy, which made her mother-like side come out of her. She found that strange as that never happened back in her other world. But that was all behind her now. It has been for years..

Luffy laughed. "Ohh, you are a coward I don't like you." Coby slumped as he cried.

"You're right." Coby sighed as he stared at the ground below them. "Completely right...if I'm only a brave enough to drift into the ocean in a barrel, there's something I want to do..."they watched him curiously as he continued. "Luffy-san, Alex-san, what were you doing drifting in the ocean in a barrel?"

"I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy smiled, joined by Alex as well.  
Coby's jaw dropped. "P...P...Pirate King?" "Yeah" "Seriously?" "Seriously."

"That means you two are pirates?" "Right" "Your crew?" "Just us two, looking for more now."

Luffy tried to shake the boy from his shocked silence, waving a hand in front of his face. Coby stood up."A Pirate King is someone who had everything in this world!" he exclaimed as the two of them nodded. "Wealth, fame, and power all united within one person."he continued. "Meaning, you are going after "One Piece"!" "Ah." "'Ah.' You say, All the pirates in the world are going after that treasure!" "We are too!" Coby shook his head frantically. "Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, absolutely impossible! It would be impossible to stand on top of this great pirate era! It can't be done, impossible impossible!"Luffy brought his fist down on the boys head to shut him up. "Why did you hit me?" he craddled his head in his hand. "Just because." was his simple answer. Alex stood up and stretched as the boy recovered. "It's fine, I'm use to it anyways." she eyes him down as he nervously laughed. "It's not if it's possible or not." Luffy pulled his hat over his eyes as Coby looked up. "I do it because I want to."

He took off his straw hat as the two teenagers stared at it. "I decided to become the Pirate King. I don't care if I die fighting for it." Alex smiled. "Now that I'm full, maybe we should go get a boat." he casually walked off as Alex followed, leaving Coby sitting there in thought for a moment. "Maybe they'll give us one if we ask.." "Definitely not, Luffy." Alex sighed.

"If they're good people!" she chuckled at his clueless nature. "I never thought of that.."Coby whispered. "Does that mean I can do it too..?"the other two turned to listen. "Not afraid to die." "What?" Luffy asked. "Maybe I can join the Marines." Coby said. "Marines?" Alex questioned. Coby stood up, clenching his fists. "That's right! It's my dream to catch bad guys!" he explained, tears in his eyes. "It's been my dream ever since my childhood. Can I do it!?"

They laughed. "How would we know?" "No, I will do it!" Coby stepped forward. "I'm going to get out of here and stop working as a slave for Alvida-sama!No, I will catch Alvida!"

The roof above them broke as a giant hole opened up, debris falling over them as they stepped back, Alex grabbing Coby to pull him safely next to her. "Making friends like this.."a woman's voice came from the smoke, her figure clearing out more as the smoke started to disappear. "Who are you going to catch...Eh, Coby!" Alex gripped his small shoulders and he cowered in fear. She looked up at Luffy, who now had swords sticking out from the wall behind him. She smirked. "You're not the pirate hunter Zoro." she said. "Zoro?"

"Coby!" she shouted, making him jump. "Who's the most beautiful woman in this ocean?" she inquired, or more like, demanded. Alex rolled her eyes. _Definitely not you.._

"That is of course..-" "Obviously not you, fat lady." Alex interrupted him, jumping to the chance to say it before Luffy could. Everyone's jaw's dropped as the room fell silent, Alex and Luffy looking around curiously. "Fat? Now's she's done it.."one of the pirates above them said. Alvida gritted her teeth as tick marks appears on her face one by one. "BRAT!" she brought her mace up behind her and down at Alex, who simply jumped out of the mace's path of destruction as it nearly missed Coby by a thread. She landed infront of him and grabbed his hand. "Let's go!" she nodded at Luffy who got the message. Luffy grabbed Alex's hand and took off our of the hole in the roof, landing in front of the pirate men who were watching. Luffy grinned, dodging the attacks a pirate made as Alex did with the others who came at her. Luffy bent backwards before bringing his head forward, head-butting with the pirate. Another one came up from behind him but was knocked down as Alex brought her boot down on him, using his head as a step stool. Luffy jumped in the air, dodging the pirate's who tried to swing their swords at him. Coby smiled in relief, but soon gasped as a pirate came out from above Luffy and took a swing of his sword at his head. Luffy easily dodged it and grabbed the man's head. "It's not fair to attack from behind!"he brought the man back and threw him into the crowd of pirates in front of him as the other two dodged the flying man.

"Luffy." Alex giggled, pointed behind him. He turned to notice a larger, angry group of pirates with their weapons ready. He took off running ad Coby and Alex sat there watching. "It's not fair to attack with more people!" they chased after him. Luffy grabbed onto the mast as he continued to run, his arm stretching out behind him. The pirates stopped to look at his hand and arm confused. They started to scream as Luffy smiled over his shoulder,"Just kidding!" he let his arm bring him flying back and into the crowd of pirates who tried to escape. "Gomu Gomu no...ROCKET!" he let his body be propelled at the group, knocking them all around.

"WHAT!?" Alvida shouted as she watched the scene, Coby staring wide eyed and wide mouthed as Alex just clapped at the boy's performance. Luffy stood up, looking at Coby who came up from behind him. "Luffy-san, what are you?"

"Me? I'm a rubber man." he pulled his right cheek out and it stretched as an example. "Rubber man...that..." Coby stopped and ran behind Luffy as Alvida stood up before them. "You ate the devil's fruit right?" she asked Luffy, who let go of his cheek, letting it bounce back into place. "Yeah, I ate the rubber fruit.""Is that so. I've heard rumors about it, but I never thought it really existed."she tilted her head as the rest of her crew watched from the balconies above them. "You also have some moves...Are you a bounty hunter?" "I'm a pirate." he answered. "Pirate? Just you?" Alex came over and stood by Luffy and Coby. "Me too!" she smiled up at the lady.

"Just us right now, but we'll find a crew eventually." Luffy said. "Let's see...I think about 10 people sounds right." he continued on as Alex watched from the corner of her eye as she saw an orange haired girl with a sack on her back sneak out a room below them.

Alvida laughed. "I see, so you are pirates. That makes us enemies doesn't it?" Coby shook in fear as he listened to their conversation. Alex held onto his shoulder to calm him down, which did just a tad bit. "Lu...Luffy-san, Alex-san, run." he whispered. "Why?" Luffy asked. "You saw the power of that iron club didn't you?"**(A/N:whoops. It's a club, not a mace! Sorry).**

"This person is the stron..."Coby stopped as he stared up at Luffy, remembering his words from earlier.

_I've decided to become he Pirate King. I don't care if I die fighting for it._

"The number one what?" Alvida's voice interrupted them. "Num... num... num..."Coby stuttered as he shook. "Number one stinking ugly old hag!" the pirate crew's jaw's dropped. _You go Coby!_Alex cheered to herself. Alvida's face was shadowed with anger as Coby kept his eyes shut tight with tears, sweat dripping down his forehead. Luffy and Alex started to laugh.

Alvida shook with anger. "What did you say?" _Oh she's pissed!_Alex smirked as Coby stepped forward. "I will join the Marines! Join and fight pirates like you!" he told her. "Do you even know what you are saying?!" she growled. "I know!" Coby continued. "I'll... I'll do what I want! Join the Marines and... join the Marines and..."he clenched his fists tighter. "Capture you!"

"LITTLE BRAT!" he screamed as she brought her iron club up to hit him. "Well said!" Luffy said. The club came down and Alex jumped up, blocking the club with her foot. She grinned. "Doesn't hurt at all!" she could see Luffy's shoulders sag in relief. She knew he was going to block it with his head, but she wanted to take some action for herself too!

"What?" Alvida sneered. Alex bounced up and kicked the club away with her other foot as Luffy brought his fist back behind them and stretched his arm out far. "Gomu Gomu no...PISTOL!" he pulled his fist back and ran it straight into Alvida's stomach, sending her flying as his fist continued to push her until she was far going our of sight of everyone's eyes.

They heard a giant splash from miles away, and Luffy brought his arm back to normal size as Coby gaped. He turned to the rest of the conscious crew to their right. "Hey!" "Yes!" they jumped. "Give Coby a boat." he ordered. "He's going to join the Marines. Let him go." they shook. "Yes, yes!" Coby smiled. "You guys!"

The sound of something falling from the sky came down to their ears and the whole boat shook as something hit the water on both sides of the boat. The boat steadied shortly and they stopped themselves from falling. They looked to see three huge Marine battle ships up ahead.

"That's the...Marines!" "Oh! Isn't that great? Why don't you go?" Luffy grinned. "We're pirates, time to run!" he grabbed Alex's hand and they jumped over the railing. "How can I...They'd arrest me before I could join!" Coby shouted down to them.

Luffy and Alex jumped in a boat nearby and let it drop into the ocean, splashing the small boat next to theirs as a girl screamed. Alex looked through the droplets of water in the air from the splash, spotting the orange-haired girl from before, as did Luffy before another cannonball landed near their boats.

.

.

"We got away somehow.."Coby said as the three of them sat in their tiny but bigger than their original, boat. Coby jumped on last second before they landed into the water.

Luffy sighed, content. "That was fun!" he smiled. Alex lay on the wooden boat floorboards besides him as she stared up at the blue sky, Coby looking around their surroundings. "Um, Luffy-san." Coby pulled the other boy from his laughter. "If One Piece is your goal, that means you are heading toward the Grand Line right?"

"Yeah." Alex answered. "It's also called the graveyard of pirates."he told them. "Yeah, that's why we need a strong crew." Luffy said. "That pirate hunter..."Alex sat up. "what kind of guy is he?" she turned to Coby, waiting for him to answer her. "You mean Zoro?" he asked. They nodded. "I heard that he was captured by the Marines." "What? He's weak then." Luffy deflated as Coby ran up to them. "Not at all! He's a terrifying beast!" he exclaimed. "Wht are you asking me this?"

They both smiled. "If he was a good guy, I thought we'd make him part of our crew." Luffy said as Coby looked terrified. "You're going to do something reckless again."

"He might be a good guy."Luffy implied. "He's been caught because he's a bady guy!" Coby said. "It's impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible...Absolutely impos..."

_**BONK!**_

"Why did you hit me?"

"Just because!"

.

.

On an island farther away, lay a Marine base near town where a man stood tied up as the hot sun's heat surrounded him..


	6. Pirate HunterIs he really a bad guy?

Luffy jumped out from their boat as they docked their small ship in town. They were on a new island to find the Pirate Hunter Zoro, and to get Coby to join the Marines.

"We're here! The town where the Marines are!" Luffy cheered as they looked past the bustling town before them and up behind it to see a huge Marine's HQ sitting at the top of the island.

They walked around town, watching as the villagers went around talking to others, buying things and children playing. "Hey you guys, it's not a very good idea to make him part of your crew."Coby insisted. "We haven't decided if he's a good person yet.."Alex told him, patting his head awkwardly. It was a bit weird, considering that she wasn't too taller than him. She was taller by a foot or two, but still.

"He's been arrested because he's a bad guy!"they watched as Luffy picked up a nearby pear and bit into it, flipping a coin towards the shop worker to pay her. "Mmm, good! I wonder if that Zoro is inside the base." he handed the pear to Alex, who gladly took a bite before giving it back to him. _Damn, I never thought I'd like pears before! _The people around them jumped back at the mention of Zoro's name. Coby came over to whisper in their ears. "It seems that Zoro's name is taboo here." They shrugged it off and continued onwards.

"Anyways, let's head to the base. You want to join the Marines, right?" Alex smiled down at Coby. "Yes...but I'm not ready yet." he looked up at her, wary. "I heard that a Captain Morgan is in charge of that base." the townspeople around them jumped back again, at the sound of the Captain's name this time.

They made it out of the market area as Luffy began to laugh. "This is a very interesting town." "That's strange." Coby caught up to him. "I can understand Zoro, but why would they be scared of a captain?" Alex stopped in her tracks, her senses kicking in. _Something isn't right here..._"Alex, come!" her ears perked and she snapped out of her thoughts as she followed Luffy's command. _Yupp. Turning into a dog alright. __**Sigh, **__I'll just go with it. Can't help it pretty much.._

"This really worries me..." "Maybe they just like to do that." Luffy suggested. "I don't think so." Coby replied.

They stopped in their tracks as they stood infront of the giant iron gates of the Marine base. "Yosh, this is it." Luffy put his hands on his hips. Coby's eyes filled with happy tears. I'm finally here!"he covered his eyes. "This is where we part, Luffy-san, Alex-san, even thought it's only been a short..." he looked up to see Luffy trying to climb the cement bricked wall in front of them. "Ah Luffy-san! What are you doing?" he waved his arms around. "Where is that demon?" Luffy peered around. "He wouldn't be in a place like this." Coby gave up. "He's probably in an isolated cell deep inside." Alex jumped up and looked around for the man.

"There he is!" she shouted, the both of them hopping down from the wall and running around to get a closer look.

"See, that guy." Luffy rested his arms on top of the wall as he stared at the pirate hunter. Alex hopped up and sat on the wall, wagging her tail in anticipation as Coby came next to them. "He can't be here..."he glanced up to where they were looking and gasped. Right in front of them a few feet away was a man, tied up to a wooden post.

_Black hood... waistband... That is Roronoa Zoro!_

"If we untie that rope, he can escape, right?"Luffy pointed at the ropes with an innocent smile. "Don't say stupid things like that!" Coby barked. "What do you think'll happen if we let him go? I'm sure he'll kill you both!" They smiled. "No problem, we're strong."

_What's with these people!?_Coby screamed inside his head.

"Oi, you there." a voice came from the pirate hunter's direction. They looked up to see him awake. Coby screeched in fear. "You're bothering me..."he looked up at them with a glare. "Get lost." Coby waved about frantically as the other two just sat there staring. "Luffy-san, Alex-san. If you recruit a guy like him, it won't matter how many lives you have-" they turned to a noise behind them to see a ladder behind placed, a smaller girl with brown hair in pig tails climbing up. She had a determined look on her face and turned to them, shushing them as she put a finger to her lips before hopping down into the yard where Zoro was held with the held of a rope to help her down. She took off in a run towards Zoro with something held to her chest.

"That's dangerous! Luffy-san, Alex-san, please stop her! She'll be killed!" Coby pleaded.

"She'll be fine.."Alex said in a whisper for just them to hear. But she didn't notice that the pirate hunter did too..

The girl stopped in front of Zoro, a smile on her face as she looked up at him. "What?" he asked. "Aren't you hungry? I made you some onigiri." she smiled up at him kindly, unwrapping the package. "You're gonna be killed, shorty. Go away." he simply stated. "You haven't eaten anything though." she stated, holding out the onigiri in front of her. "Here! This is my first time..."she smiled brightly. "But I made it with all my heart."

Zoro looked taken back. "I'm not hungry!" he insisted. "You're annoying! Hurry up and go home." "But..." "I don't want any. Don't make me hurt you!" he shouted. Alex sighed, shaking her head as they watched on. The gates besides them opened up and three figures stepped into the yard, catching everyone's' attention. "You shouldn't be bullying kids." a weird voice came from one of the figures walking up to them. "Looks like you're still energetic, Roronao Zoro." a blonde man in a pink and purple suit came in with two Marine soldiers by his sides.

"And another weird guy appears." Luffy commented as Alex silently laughed at that. She was trying her best not to burst out laughing at the site of the man's chin.

"Thank goodness. They're Marines so I'm sure that girl will be fine now." Coby sighed in relief. Alex shook her head to herself, only Luffy noticing it too.

The blonde man leaned down to the girl a little bit. "Hey, that onigiri looks pretty good." a strange smile appeared on his face. He snatched one from her grasp and bit into it. "No!" she gasped. He chewed on the onigiri for a moment before his eyes widened as he began to spit it out. "Nasty!" he clenched his fists, turning to the girl. "It's full of sugar! Onigiri needs salt! Salt!" The girl looked upset. "But I thought it would taste better sweet." "Take that!" he smacked the other onigiri from her hands and onto the ground, beginning to stomp on it until it was mixed with the dirt below them. The girl fell to her knees. "Stop! Stop!"

"What a horrible thing..."Coby commented as they watched the scene go on before them. Alex lowered her head as a deep, angry frown spread across her face. She _hated_ people like him..

The girl looks down at the once round onigiri as tears gathered up in her eyes. Zoro watched as she began to cry. "I tried to make it with all my heart." she sniffed.

"Ahh, you haven't read this poster yet?" the blonde guy took a poster out from his suit, reading it to her. "Anyone who helps this criminal will be executed. Marine Captain Morgan." the girl jumped in shock as she heard those words. He laughed. "Brat, you know who my father is right."

"Father?" Luffy wondered. "Then he is Captain Morgan's son?" Coby whispered.

The blonde jerked a thumb towards the Marine soldier on his left. "Hey, toss this brat out."the soldier looked surprised. He went over and grabbed the Marine by the collar. "I'm telling to you toss her outside! Are you disobeying my orders?" he yelled at the man. "I'll tell my father!"

"Yes! Right away!"he stepped up to the little girl, bending down towards her to reach out and grab her. "Little girl, I'm sorry for having to hurt you." he whispered, causing her to blink in confusion before being grabbed and thrown over to the other side of the yard, over the heads of the onlookers. She screamed and Alex took this moment to jump into action, jumping as far she could and grabbing onto the girl pulling her into her arms and shielding her as they fell to the hard dirt ground. They sat up as Alex checked the girl to make sure she was okay. "Thank you!" she told the older girl, who gave her a soft smile in return. "Are you okay, Alex-san?" Coby and Luffy ran up to them. Coby bent down to check the girl as Alex stood up. "Are you hurt anywhere? What a horrible guy."

"You bastard."Zoro sneered at the blonde man who laughed on by him. "It seems like you're pretty stubborn, being alive still." "Yeah, I will live through the entire month." Zoro told him. "Well, do your best."the blonde told him as he walked down towards the gates, the Marine soldiers following suit. "Ten more days left." Zoro shouted to him. "Only if you live that long." he replied, making his way out of the gates.

"How could he do such a horrible thing? Luffy-san, Alex-san!" Coby turned to see they werent there. "Not here!"

Zoro looked up to see the two of them in front of him a few feet away. "So you're a bad guy?" Luffy asked. "You're still here?" Zoro asked. "Being publicly humiliated...Are you really that strong?" he questioned. "Mind your own business!" Zoro yelled as the two walked up closer. "I would have escaped withing 3 days." Luffy smiled, acting a bit cocky. Alex would've rolled her eyes if she hadn't felt the rage building up more and more in her stomach. Oh how badly she wanted to throw that man into the ocean and let him drown..

"I'm different from you." Zoro told the boy, smirking. "I will survive to show them. Definitely." Alex looked at the man in pity. "Mm, you think so?" she just knew what the blonde bastard was really planning. She knew, that a man like him, would never keep a deal without cheating to get a laugh. Zoro raised a brow at her but said nothing. He didn't seem to pay her any mind at the moment. "Heh, what a stubborn guy." Luffy turned to leave. "Wait a sec." Zoro stopped him. Zoro's eyes traveled down to the ground, looking at the smashing in onigiri. "Can you get that?" Luffy bent down and picked it up. "Are you really going to eat this?" he took a look at the damamged and now dirty food. "It's more of a dirt ball now."

"Shut up and give it to me!" he shouted. Luffy tilted his head. Alex walked over and gently took it from her brother's hands and walked over to Zoro. She held it up and fed it to him, he coughed a bit from the dirt that had entered his throat. "Told you so." Luffy smiled. "It was delicious." Zoro said. "Thanks for the food." his eyes were shadowed by his bandana. The two of them smiled.

.

.

"Really?"

"Yeah, he ate everything!" Luffy told the little girl as Luffy, Coby and the little girl were seated outside a building in town. "I'm so happy!" the girl smiled. "Is Zoro really an evil guy like they said?" Coby whispered. "No!" the girl told him. "Well, he is in jail because of us." "Huh? What do you mean by that?"Luffy asked. "Everything is Helmerppo's fault." she whispered. "Captain Morgan's son.."

.

"_Move, move! Clear the road for my cute pet!"Helmeppo ordered as he let his rabid pet wolf run around the town road, making the residents move out of the way. "Anyone in the way will be executed!" _

_The wolf burst into a nearby restaurant, causing the people inside to look at what it was. They screamed as the wolf ran freely around the room, eating anyone's food they found on the tables. A little girl with brown hair in pigtails came out with a broom, swinging it around at the wolf. "No! Stop it!"_

"_Hey, yo. Do you have a problem with my pet?" Helmeppo came in, a sword casually swung over his shoulder. "Rika, stop it. You're going to get in trouble." the girl's mother told her. Helmeppo laughed, his wolf turning to pounce at Rika. She screamed as the animal pounced at her._

_Suddenly a wooden stool came flying at the wolf, knocking it across the room as Helmeppo gasped. "Inugata! Who did that? I won't let you go!" they all turned towards a man who sat at the bar, a dark greenish black bandana on his head, covering his light green hair. Helmeppo thrashed around as he started to have a temper tantrum. "Who the hell are you!?" he gasped, pointed his sword at the man. "You can't be..."he cautiously stepped closer to the man, sword pointed at him. "Pirate hunter Zoro?"_

"_So what?" he asked as Rika ran into her mother's arms who pulled her away from the scene. "Why the hell is a pirate hunter bothering the Marines?!" he waved his sword around. "Let me eat in peace."Zoro told the blonde man. "You!" Helmeppo swung his sword at Zoro, who easily dodged the weapon and kicked the sword up, making it get stuck in the ceiling. The blonde gaped in shock before getting punched in the face and falling into the counter. _

_Zoro unsheathed the sword from his belt and pointed it at Helmeppo's face, who screeched. "You're annoying..."Zoro glared down at the man. "Your pet too." the blonde looked at the sword in fear before glancing to the side with a nervous smile. "Don't you understand?" he asked. "If my father finds out about this," he looked towards Rika and her mother. "those people will be executed." Zoro continued to glare at him."What do you think? Why don't we make a deal." Helmeppo stood up. "Why don't you go to jail instead of them?" he asked. "Let's see... one month. If you survive for one month, I'll let you go too. How about it?"_

"_One month, right?" Zoro dropped his sword, letting it stick in the wooden floor.._

.

"It's been 3 weeks." Rika said. "That Helmeppo punches and kicks Zoro while he's tied there." she covered her eyes with her hands, beginning to shake. "I...I..." "So that's what happened." Coby breathed. Luffy looked up at the sky. "I wonder where Alex went.."

There was a loud crashing of glass and they looked to the side. Inside the restaurant, Helmeppo planted his foot down on the table as he leaned back in his chair, two Marine soldiers behind him. "I'm hungry! We're all going to eat for free." he said with a cocky smile. "Hey, hurry up and bring some alcohol!" he ordered. "What's taking so long? Hurry up!" The others in the restaurant watched as the scene unfolded befor them. A girl with short orange hair, dressed in a blue and white striped shirt and a yellow mini skirt watched as he yelled at the waitress. Luffy, Coby and Rika walked in from the side.."That's right. Since I'm so tired I've decided to execute Zoro tomorrow! Look forward to it everyone." he said to the others in the restaurant, laughing loudly. Luffy ran up and punched the blonde right in his cheek, sending his flying..

"Oi, why are you still here?" Zoro asked as he watched Alex come up casually and sit on the ground before him. "Because." she wagged her tail. "Go back to your friend. Leave me alone." he told her. She smiled softly at him, causing him to be taken back. "What? Why are you smiling?" he asked. "You may seem all rough and tough.."she sighed. "But we both know that's not how you truly are, ne?" she smiled up at him as she watched him blink. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you'll find out soon, Zoro.." she fell back onto the ground, looking up at the sky. "Soon enough.."

"I've decided, Coby.."Luffy said as he raised a fist, Coby stood behind him as he tried to hold the older boy back. "I'm going to have Zoro join my crew!"

Zoro gasped, looking up as he shook from his thoughts. Alex watched as his eyes widened a bit, snapping out of it before relaxing. "Ah, there you are Alex." Luffy came over to the two. She sat up and nodded. "You again? You have too much free time." Zoro said. "I'm going to untie the ropes, and you will become our comrade." Luffy told him. "What did you say?"

"We're looking for people to join our pirate crew." he told Zoro, stepping closer. "I refuse!" Zoro shouted. "You want me to be a bad guy? How annoying..." "What's wrong with being a pirate?" Luffy inquired. "Pirates are scum. Who would want to be one?" "Does it matter?" Alex chuckled, standing up. "You're known as an evil pirate hunter."

"I don't care what society says."Zoro implied. "I've never regretted doing anything." he smirked. "I will survive and do what I want to do!" "Is that so?" Luffy crossed his arms over his chest with a smile. "But I've already decided that you will be my comrade."

"You can't decide that by yourself!" "You use a sword, right?" he changed the subject. "Yeah... but that stupid son took them." he replied. "I'll go get it for you." "What?" Luffy smiled. "So when I return your sword, you will become my comrade."

"YOU REALLY ARE DENSE!" Zoro barked at the oblivious boy, before he took off running. "Is he going to attack the base by himself?" he whispered,"You idiot, the base is the other way! Not over there." "Eh?" Zoro sighed as the boy turned the other way.

"Gomu Gomu no..Rocket!" he launched himself as Zoro's jaw dropped. "That guy... What the hell is he?!" Alex giggled and moved to try and untie the ropes. "Mmm. These are strong ropes!" she whined, trying to pull one free. Zoro watched as she struggled with the rope. He took a chance to look at her fully. She had black hair, that ended near her shoulders and she had chocolate brown eyes. He then looked up to see two black ears on her head, and down at the tail that was wagging around. He sweatdropped. "You people are so weird.."

Coby came to help Alex untie Zoro. "Escape, Zoro-san." "If you guys do this, you'll be killed!" Zoro told them. "I can't stand by and watch these Marines anymore." Coby said. "I want to be a good Marine!" "Stop!" Zoro tried again. "I can't run away! Ten more days left."

"You will be executed tomorrow!" Alex growled. He looked over to the other side where she was trying to untie the other ropes on his right arm. "What?" "Helmeppo never intended to keep his promise.."Coby looked at her with a raised brow. "How did you-" "I knew it all along. I know that a guy like him would never truly keep a promise!" she threw her hands in the air in frustration. "Damn these ropes!" she turned away from them, running a hand through her dark locks of hair.

"Luffy-san is being chased by the Marines right now." Zoro turned to listen to Coby. He couldn't help but somehow feel shocked about Alex, she seemed to feel betrayed by these people too, although she was never apart of any of this to begin with.

Coby smiled up at the older male. "I'm not telling you to become a pirate,"he turned to the ropes again. "but please...please help Luffy-san and Alex-san." Zoro turned to face straight ahead in thought. "Luffy-san and Alex-san are the only ones who can save Zoro-san." Coby continued. "And now... I believe you are the only one who can save them."

"Hold it right there!" they turned to see the Marines pointed guns at them. Alex growled. She never liked guns...

Captain Morgan walked up. "By the treason you have committed against me... You will all be executed right here." he held up the arm that had the giant axe attached to it.

Alex stood in front of the both of them as Coby began to cry out in fear. "You guys did some interesting things." Morgan started. "Do you and the guy with the straw hat intend to start a revolution?" "I've always fought my battles along,"Zoro told him. "unlike you... hiding behind your troops and creating chaos!" Morgan moved his axed hand in front of him. "Roronoa Zoro, don't underestimate me." "You skill, when compared to my strength, is nothing!"

"CAN IT OLD MAN!" Alex shouted, making the man shut up. The Marines's jaws dropped around them. "Alex-san!"

"Aim!" Morgan ordered, and the soldiers took aim at them. Alex spread her arms out, blocking the two behind them the best she could. "Oi, your going to set shot woman!" Zoro tried to convince her to step away. "You said it yourself, Zoro.." he blinked down at her. "You can't die in a place like this!" his eyes widened at those words. "Wha-" she smirked.

"FIRE!"

The window above them broke open as Luffy shot himself out and down towards the yard. The soldiers began to fire just as Luffy landed right in front of Alex, shielding her. "You-!" "Luffy-san!" "Straw hat!" the skin where the bullets should have entered on his body stretched back. He smirked before stretching out, letting the bullets fly outwards. "It won't work!"he laughed loudly as they all, except Alex, stared at him in disbelief. "I told you so, I'm strong!"

"You... What the hell are you?!" Zoro gasped. He let his arms fall to his side and turned to look at him over his shoulder. "I'm Monkey D. Luffy." he gave him a thumbs up. "I'm the man who will become the Pirate King!"


	7. A New Comrade and Happy Departure!

"W... what?" Zoro was astonished. "Become the Pirate King?! Do you understand what you're saying?" Luffy smiled. "The Pirate King is the Pirate King..."he said. "What else could it mean?"

The Marine's and Captain Morgan watched as they were shocked by the boy's statements. "I was surprised too," Coby smiled with excitement. "but Luffy-san is serious." "Dead serious~"Alex twirled. "That's the kind of person he is!"Coby added on. "He will become the Pirate King and find the ultimate treasure, One Piece!" Luffy smiled a huge, toothy smile as he held out three katanas in front of Zoro.

"Here, your sword."he said. "Which one is it? I couldn't tell, so I grabbed all three." "All three are mine."he answered. Alex gasped. _Three!? _"I use three swords"he moved around a bit against his rope restraints. " 'll take them, right?"Luffy smiled. "But if we fight together, you'll owe me." Alex sighed. There was nothing getting by this kid today. "Being killed by Marines or coming with me... Which one do you pick?"

Zoro smirked. "You're the son of the devil." he said. "Fine! I'd rather be a pirate than die here!"Luffy and Alex cheered. "Great, you'll be our comrade!" "Alright! This is perfect!"Luffy bounced up and down.

"I get it, now set me free!"

"What is that guy?" one of the Marine soldiers gasped. "The bullets were useless." another said. "The guy with the straw hat isn't a normal human."

"Yes he is, baaaaaka." Alex whispered to herself. How could this Marine Captain be so stupid?

"It seems that he ate one of the devil's fruits."the soldiers exchanged worried glances. "Devil's fruit?" "Treasure of the ocean?"

"Devil's Fruit..it is said that whoever eats one will obtain unbelievable power." Morgan explained. "The power to breathe fire...to create tsunamis...there are many rumors about the devil's fruits...too many to know which ones are actually true. The secret to this is supposedly hidden in the Grand Line." a bit of sweat slid down the Marine Captain's forehead. "Without a doubt, that straw hat's power is the power of the devil's fruit!"

"Umm, hurry!" Coby whispered as they tried their best to get Zoro out of the rope. "I can't untie this know!" Luffy whined, tugging on the rope repeatedly. Alex was on the other side, biting on the rope to try and cut it with her teeth. "OW!"Zoro shouted as he felt Alex's canines on his bare arm. "Whoops, sorry!" she smiled sheepishly.

"Stop screwing around!" Zoro shouted at the other two boys.

"It doesn't matter who he is. Those who oppose me will be executed!" Morgan shouted angrily. "If guns don't work, then cut them to pieces!" the soldiers followed the command, charging at the four of them as they tried to get Zoro free. "That's weird, the knot is getting tighter." "Hurry up and give me my swords!" he comically shouted at the boy. "Luffy-san!" Coby cried out as the Marine's got closer. Alex stood in front of Coby to protect the smaller boy.

_**CLANG!**_

They sliced at the two but were blocked as Zoro's swords were now blocking theirs. The other three gaped in amazement. "Whoa, cool!" the Marine soldiers seemed to be frightened by the man. "Make one move and you're dead!" Zoro warned, sending shivers down their spines, and Alex's as well. "I'm so scared!" the soldiers cried as frightened tears ran down their face. "Crybabies.."Alex sighed.

"I promised to be a pirate." Zoro said as he held up the frozen stiff soldiers behind him. "Opposing the Marine's will make me a wanted man. However, I'll tell you one thing. I will always follow my own ambitions!"

"Ambitions?" Luffy inquired. "To become the world's greatest swordsman!"he continued. "If you do anything that would cause me to abandon my ambitions...You will end your own life on my sword!" Luffy smiled, not phased by the warning, but understood it perfectly.

"The world's greatest swordsman? That's nice!"he breathed. "As the Pirate's King's comrade, I wouldn't expect any less from you."

"Heh, indeed."smirked Zoro. "It doesn't matter if it's as a devil or a saint...My name will be heard all over the world!"

"Why are you all just standing there?!" Morgan's voice shouted out to them. "Execute all of them now!" the Marine soldiers shook in fear. "Duck, Zoro!" Luffy kicked his foot backwards, Zoro wondering what he was about to do. "Gomu Gomu no... "he swung his leg around, stretching it out as it wiped out all of the Marine soldiers behind Zoro. "Whip!"

"Alright! Amazing!" Coby cheered as Alex jumped up and down in excitement. "Finally some action!" Zoro stood up. "What are you? He repeated. Luffy cranked his leg. "I ate the rubber fruit." he explained. "Rubber fruit?"

"Rubber human!" one marine whispered as they all lay on the ground, recovering from his leg whip. "So he did eat the devil's fruit." Morgan confirmed. "Captain! We're no match for him!" another soldier said, looking up at their captain. "This is the captain's order!" Morgan growled. "Those who are complaining...shoot yourselves in the head!" Alex gasped. "That bastard!" she growled. "This military officer doesn't need weaklings like you!"

"What's happening with these Marines?" Zoro crouched in a fighting position. "Luffy-san!" Luffy ran straight past the others and through the marine soldiers. "Crush those marines!"

He ran past the soldiers and towards the captain. "Oh he would..."Alex chuckled. Luffy brought his fist out and punched Captain Morgan's axe arm/hand.

Morgan grabbed his captain's coat, yanking it off and throwing it behind him. "A civilian with no rank is no match for me! I am the Captain of the Marines! Axe Hand Morgan!"

"I'm Luffy, nice to meet you!" "DIE!" he swung his axe hand at the boy, who jumped out of the way and dodged it. Morgan turned, bringing the axe down and to the ground as Luffy jumped out of it's deadly path as it created a huge crack in the ground beneath them. Coby gasped as it spread out more slightly.

Luffy jumped up, holding onto his beloved straw hat as he kicked his feet onto Morgan's face, knocking him to the ground as he flipped back up to land in a crouched position.

"Wh... what's going on?" a marine shouted. Morgan got up, glaring at the boy. "Brat!" Luffy pounced towards the taller man as he raised his axed hand. "Die!" he brought it down with a strong force, but Luffy simply dodged it, spinning in the air. "Don't wanna!" he swung around and kicked the man, forcing him to get out of the way.

"Captain Morgan.."the Marines were shocked as they watched the fight go on. They couldn't believe their eyes when they saw their captain getting beat by some rookie. "Is no match for him!"

Luffy bent down and grabbed the captain's shirt, pulling him up to look at him as he brought out his fist. "What kind of Marines are you..destroying Coby's dream like that!" he punched him in the face, about to do it again when a voice stopped him.

"Wait! Straw hat, look at this!" Helmeppo's voice came through, but Luffy kept punching his father. "I said wait! Are you an idiot!" he held up a pistol at Coby's head. "Oh boy.."Alex growled in annoyance. "Doesn't this kid learn anything!?"

"Can't you see that I have a hostage here?"

"Helmeppo-sama..." one of the Marines gasped. "Hey." Zoro got Luffy's attention.

"If you care about his life, don't move!"he shouted, but the way he was shaking, it didn't look like he was all that tough. "You try anything and I'll shoot!" Coby shook as he stared at Luffy, who smiled in return. "Luffy-san!" Coby called as his face went from frightened to determined. "I don't want to interfere with your dream. Even if I die!" "Yes, I know!" smiled Luffy. He brought up his arm. "Give it up idiot, Coby is serious."he walked over towards the two. "Don't move!" Helmeppo shouted. "I said don't move! I'll shoot him!"

Coby's eyed widened. "Be... behind you!" Luffy payed no mind to Morgan, who raised his axe hand behind the boy as he just brought his arm back. "I am the Captain of the Marines!" he shouted. "Captain Axe Hand Morgan!" "Gumo Gumo no..."

"Fa... father, hurry up and kill..." "PISTOL!" Coby ducked just in time as Luffy's fist connected with the blonde's face. "Nice..."Luffy smiled. Morgan's eyes widened as he grunted in pain, his eyes rolling back as he collapsed to the ground, Zoro landing behind him. "Zoro!" Luffy smirked, which was returned by the swordsman. "It was nothing, Captain."

"Coby," Alex bent down to the young boy's aid as he sat down with labored breaths, trying to calm down. Helmeppo lay beside him with his face bruised.

"They defeated Captain Morgan!" a marine soldier shouted. "I can't believe it!" "Who are these guys?"

"If anyone still wants to fight us, come now!" Zoro offered. The soldiers all exchanged looks before abruptly throwing their hats and weapons in the air, cheering. "Alright!" "We did it!" "Yahoo!" "Banzai!"

"What the... Their captain was just defeated and they're rejoicing?" Luffy tilted his head. Alex nudged him in the elbow playfully. "It's because they were afraid of him you dork~"

Zoro suddenly collapsed to the ground, causing them to look over. "What's the matter, Zoro-san?! Are you injured!" Coby cried. "I'm hungry..."

.

.

_In a restaurant in town.._

"I'm full!" Zoro laughed. "That meal was worth not eating for 3 weeks!"

"Eh? Is that all you're going to eat?" Luffy asked with a fork full of food. "I don't understand how you can eat more than me!"Zoro pointed out. "Cause it's good... right, Coby? Alex?"

"I'm sorry, I helped myself too."the boy smiled sheepishly. "It's alright, you helped save our town!" the lady smiled. "You were amazing back there!" Rika gushed to Luffy. "Yeah, I'm great!" he smiled, chewing his food happily. "I'll become even greater. I'm gonna become the Pirate king!"he looked over to Zoro. "We found a comrade too!" "So how many shipmates do we have?" Zoro asked as Luffy stuck more food into his mouth. "I remember you saying that you were looking for crew members." he said. "To become the Pirate King, you probably have a crew already." Alex snorted. "Nu uh, just us three!" "Wha?! Then..."he pointed at the three of them. "Yep, us three!" Zoro looked at the boy, as if he was insane. "Can we be pirates with just us three?" "What does it matter, we're strong." Luffy told him. "Ship, where's our pirate ship?" Zoro tested. Luffy lifted up a fork out the window, pointing to the ship.

"There." the ship was small, with one flag and it was a row boat. Aaand a dog was peeing on it at the moment..

"That dog!" Alex jumped from her seat and ran outside, chasing the animal as she barked comically at it.

Zoro lean against the window, peering out towards the small row boat. "That?" "It's small now, but I'll get us a really big one!" Luffy threw his hands up. Zoro burst out laughing, raising a brow at him. "How?"

"I want a pirate flag too!" Luffy daydreamed, putting more food into his mouth. "How cool!" Zoro put a hand to his forehead as he seemed to be regretting his choices. "Luffy-san was born without planning abilities." Coby sighed. "Am I really going to follow this guy?" "ME TOO!"Zoro staggered back as Alex came from the window, climbing back into the building.

"Well, we'll get more comrades as we go along." Luffy explained.

"Hey, hey... where are you guys going now?" Rika asked. "That's obvious. We're going to the Grand Line!" Coby spit out his juice, some of it spewing from his nose. "With just the three of you?! No matter what, that's impossible!" "He seems to like that word.."Alex but a fist to her chin. "Impossible, impossible, impossible!" "I see what you mean." Zoro whispered.

"Is the Grand Line really that dangerous?" Rika asked. "Of course it is!" Coby told them. "You know that there are two oceans in this world, right?" he looked down. "The stretch of land in between the two oceans is called the Red Line. There is a road in the center of the Red Line. That road is aligned with the Red Line... that is the Grand Line. A long time ago, the Pirate King, Gold Roger, obtained everything in the world...it is said that he left the greatest treasure, One Piece, in the Grand Line...And that's why hordes of pirates flocked to the Grand Line."

"Now, the place is a battlefield. It's also known as the Graveyard of Pirates."just thinking about it made the boy shake in fear. "I heard from a customer that once people enter the Grand Line, they never come back." Rika's mother said. "But One Piece is there somewhere, so we'll have to go." Luffy stated. "Well, I guess we have no choice." Zoro leaned back into his chair.

"Zoro-san, you too?" Coby jumped from his stool. "What other way to get there, Coby?" Alex shrugged. "Who cares, you aren't going anyways." Zoro told him. "Even though I'm not going, I'm worried, can't I do that..."he looked to the other two. "Because Luffy-san, Alex-san and I are friends, even though we just met,"he looked to them. "Right?"

"Yep! We're parting ways, but we'll always be friends!" Coby looked a bit shocked, before smiling. "When I was little, I never had any friends." he said in a whisper, but loud enough for everyone to hear. Alex smiled as she listened. "Nobody stood up for me and I never stood up for myself..."the other two boys looked confused as they stayed quiet. "But because of all of you, I've learned to strive for my own goals!"he brought his face up with a determined smile. "I'm going to make my childhood dream come true! I will become a Marine!"

"Rather than worry about us,"Zoro interrupted. "you should take care of yourself." "Eh?"

"Even though you were forced into it, you still served under the pirate, Alvida."Coby stood quiet. "Don't underestimate the Marines' information intelligence. If they found out, you wouldn't be able to join. "

"Speaking of which..."

"Excuse me." the door opened up as they all turned their heads, seeing one of the Marine soldiers enter. "Is it true that you guys are pirates?" he asked. Alex wagged her tail happily. "Yupp! We just found a new comrade too!We're pirates!"

"We are very grateful that you saved us from the clutches of Morgan." the Marine said. "However, now that we know you are pirates, we can't look the other way."he adjusted his hat. "You must leave this town immediately!" everyone gasped from outside. "We owe you our lives, so we will not contact headquarters."

"Hey, Marine!" a villager behind them shouted. "What the hell are you talking about? You guys were also controlled by Morgan!Those guys saved all our lives!" the villagers pitched in to defending the group. Luffy smiled. "Well, shall we go?"he stood up, giving a glance towards the two ladies by the counter. "Thanks for the food, obachan!"

"Are you guys leaving already?" Rika asked. "Ah." Luffy nodded as he walked towards the door. Zoro and Alex joined him as Coby stood behind. "Are you their comrade?" the officer asked him. "I... I'm..."he struggled with his words as the others stopped to listen to what he would say. Luffy moved to leave again but the soldier halted him. "Just a minute, is he with you?"Luffy turned back with a smile. "I know all about this guy."

_Luffy-san, you wouldn't!_Coby gasped. "There was a huge pirate lady that looked like a duck!" he motioned around his body to show his meaning of huge. "Luffy-san!"

"She had this big club..."he walked up towards the two. "She was one ugly looking old hag!"he began to poke the boy's head. "This guy served that female pirate for two years!"

_Please stop. Please stop, Luffy-san!_

Coby twisted and punched Luffy in the face, causing the boy to stagger. Everyone gasped as Zoro and Alex smirked. Coby's eyes widened as he realized what he just did.

Luffy smirked before bringing his fist out. "Now you did it, bastard!"he punched him repeatedly. "You bastard! You bastard!"

"Stop this at once!" the soldier commanded. "I will not allow you to disturb the peace of this town!"

"Hey, that's enough." Zoro grabbed the back of Luffy's red vest, stopping him. "Don't go overboard." Coby fell backwards to the wood floor. The soldier pointed a fingure. "It's clear that he's not with you! Leave our town now!" Luffy smirked as he put his hat back on his head. The others walked out as Coby watched. _On purpose. _he thought. _He did that on purpose..._

The villagers and marines watched as they walked out of the restaurant. _For my sake...He made me punch him on purpose! _Coby gritted his teeth. _I... received help from him even at the very end! Nothing has changed at all...Am I stupid?_he lifted himself from the floor.

"I want to..." he stared up at the marine. "I want to join the Marines! I'll do anything you want..."he bowed. "To become a Marine!"

Another soldier came up behind the one inside. "Commander. I'm against it!" Coby stayed silent. "I can't trust this boy yet. It's possible that he's a spy for the pirates." they looked back down at the boy. "First, we have to run a background check on you."

"I sincerely want to be a Marine!" Coby declared. The commander walked up to his side, facing the opposite direction he was. "We have lost many Marines to the pirates. The life of a Marine is not an easy one." Coby gasped. "Then.." "Permission to join, granted!" he smiled and turned to salute the commander. "Yes, sir!"

.

.

"That was really something back there." The three of them walked down the road to their boat. "They might find out about it though." Luffy chuckled. "I'm sure Coby can handle the rest."

"Well, that was a good experience. Everyone will hate us from now on. The life of a pirate." Luffy laughed, lifting the rope from the dock to let the boat get ready to set sail.

"Luffy-san, Alex-san!" they turned to see Rika, her mother, and Coby as he saluted them. "Thank you very much! This Marine will never forget you!"

"I've never heard of a Marine thanking a Pirate before." Zoro smirked.

They lowered their small flag as it began to pull the ship out to sea. "We'll meet again, Coby!" Luffy and Alex waved their goodbyes.

"Luffy-san..." "Good bye...oniichan! Onee-san!"

"Everyone, salute!" the commander ordered his soldiers, who obeyed, saluting to the pirates.

"See ya!" Luffy shouted as Alex sat down.

"You have a great friend there." the commander commented, smiling down at Coby. Coby's eyes filled with tears, but shook them off quickly as a smile spread across his face. "Yes, Sir!"they watched as the small boat got smaller in the distance.

"What we're doing is against the code of the Marines!" the commander called out. "Our punishment is no food for three days! Understand?"

"Yes, Sir!"

_Someday...We'll meet again someday, Luffy-san, Alex-san!_

_As pirates and Marines..._

_Someday, we will meet again!_

"Now we're well on our way to becoming pirates!" Luffy put a food on the front of the ship, holding his hat as they sailed through the ocean. "Looks like it's going to be one hell of an adventure." Zoro said. Luffy whistled. "I will become the Pirate King!" Zoro frowned slightly. "You've always rambled on about becoming the Pirate King...Is there a particular reason?"

"Nope, no reason." Luffy answered. "But.." "But?"

"I made a vow... to that man." Alex smiled, leaning back. "To form an amazing crew...To find the world's greatest treasure...And become the Pirate King!"

He adjusted his hat through the wind. "This straw hat knows it all!" "I see."

"Alright, let's go!" Luffy chanted. "Grand Line...Here we come!"

.

.

"I promised that man to keep you out of trouble, too!" Alex smirked. "Hey!" Zoro burst out laughing as so did Alex as their captain pouted. _I have a feeling..._

_That everything will turn out amazing!_

**Hope you enjoyed this new chapter! :D Not very much Alex action in this one, sadly. I need to learn when to add her actions in with theirs, since I am going off the episodes~ Next time..who is this beautiful lady? Buggy the Clown is in town? :o**


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